Flexible coupling



Aug. 28, 1951 E. G. JOHNSON FLEXIBLE COUPLING Filed May 15, 1946 MOTOR O2 GEAR REDUCE-2d WITNESSES:

"ATTQRNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1951 Edgar G. Johnson,

Parkfniage, 111., Vassignor to Koppel-s Company, Inc.,- Pittsburgh,'Pa., a corpora'tion of Delaware Applieation'May 15, isisgserial No.=.669,963

7 Claims.

\ 'This-inven'tion relates to'scouplers. -More'par- Y ticularly the" invention-relates tocouplings for *vertical shafts Whereinthere is vertical thrust "on the. coupler.

:Experience has-shown that the wear and strain on a verticaldriving'sha'ft and its bearings may be greatly reduced if? the stirrer, propeller, centrifugal or the "likewhich is attached to the lower end of a" shaft is connected'with the driving shaft through a vertical thrust coupling. The coupling will take careof' a non-alignment of the shafts and willabsorbthe strains resulting from anything which tends to move the shafts to'which thestirrer' or the like is attached, outof vertical alignment with: the'idriving shaft.

The primarypbj'ect of the present invention isto" provide acouplerforvertical shafts with a vertical thrust bearing.

*Another object of the- -invention is to provide a vertical thrust c'oupler that may :be effectively lubricated.

-'A further object of. the invention is to provide a coupler for "vertical" shafts which' is adapted tor thrust operation*and'whichis simpleami cheap in construction.

'With these and other objects in-view the invention consists in the vertical thrust coupling hereinafter illustrated -"and"described and par- "ticularly defined in the annexed claims.

The-iiiiportant features of the'inventioin are illustrated "the 1 accompanying drawings in "-which:

"Figure 1 is 'a' view in elevation'with parts in section, of a stirrer-coupled to the lower-end of a vertical drive shaft with' the couplerof the present' invention;

Figure 2 is a '-plan- View of the b olts by which "the coupling members'may be locked in fixed position to the fends o'f'the' vertical shafts;' and, 1 Figure-3 is a fragmen'tary" viewainelevation, with the parts in 'section; of J the couplenaillusrtra'tin'g another form of-" tflex-iblef thrust: {bearing therein.

' The coupling-shown: in 'the drawin'gsis 'illustrated' -for the'-'-.purpose1 of a connectinga vertical s'haft for a St'lI'I8I"Wit1I a vertical drivingshaft that-ls gear--=or 'motor-driven. The stirrer In which is attached "to thelower 'end of a'lower vertical shaft is shownsas' suspended in a tank 1 l2. With some' types of: sitirrersit -is' necessary 'tohave'a bearing inthe tank at the lower end '-'of the tank butf'with'flight weight stirrers this is not necessary. :Theuppen'end of theshaft l4 s fixed in' alowerz-liub l6"by*means'ofa=key l8 and 'bolts" 20'. The'frkey' 'ldis fittedrinto keyways form -9) 2 in the hub 16, and shaft l4 and provides for the srot'a'tionof theshaft I4 with the hub '|6. The bolts 201secure a pmezz to the'upper end of the shaft and the plate 22 fits in a sooket'24 in s 'the upper 'end'of the hub 16. Thehub 16 has 7 an'ou'twardly, projecting flange 26 to which is secured, by means'ofboltsf28, a coupling cylinder 30. Although one bolt 28 is il1ustrated,'eight or more bolts dependingup'on thesize of the i0 coupler, are'used in'holding the membersf lfi, 30 and an oil' plate 32 together. The oil plate '32 ,fits ,on top of the hub 16 and has offset. faces 34 closelyTfitted'with the top of the hub'lB and the. bottom ofwthecylinder- 30 by which an' oiljtight connectionjnay be secured. The oilfplate 32-is .norrnally v secured, to the.lower face ofthe fiange'jofithe cylinder 30rbyfmeansof a series of V screws 33 which 4 aredistributed around .the flange. Thevcylinder sosurrounds an upper hub 36Hthat islfix'ed for rotation on the lower end .of an ",uppefdrivingishaft 38" by means of a, key 40. 'Theikeyffits in keyiways. formed in the hub Q36; and. shaft." 38. v

The lower hub l6 7 nrlower portion of the coupler'while the up er hub 36ifwithJ its; connected parts forms the upper portionlof thecoupler. 'Thelupper hub 36 is fixed to the loWerjjendr of the shaft 38, which shaft s also carries a bearing carrier plate 44 bysmeans eofiboIts 142-,.four1bolts beinglutilized as illustrated .Fi'gure'fl. I Thejbolts pass' through the plate Q44 andarethreadedjnto thelower end iofjthe shaft 38. Each of the bolts 42 has a hole drilled therethroughand a Wire 46- is passed through 5 the four bolts as illustrated in"Figure 2 to lock the bolts, against rotation to' prevent their being Iloosened. lThe samewire tieingconstruction for locking the bolts against rotation in thejupper end of the shaft is used connecting the shaft Uhwiththehub l6. 7

--A flexible bearing,-ocompr'ising a lower bearing -,-ring 48 and an uppenbearing ring56, ismounted .-a-:- -seat '5flv on thelupperiffacefof the bearing carriersplate 44.. ZThe-upperi face ofthe bearing 5 ring-48 is ground to provide a sphericalosurface.

andxcylinder 30 forrn'fthe vThe-bearing ring 48 forms: the. lower portion of -a -thrust bearing uponwhich the upper and lower 7 t-portionsbf-z-thet coupler. may move. relatively to one-another inoprcviding for nc -alignment of 5 stheverticalshafts lib-38.: A block 52 is mounted "at the-lowen end of) the upper shaft 38 between the lower end of theshaft 38 and'the bearing r-- -carr-ier, plate to provide a spaceinwhich the t. spherical bearingsrings are mounted; Anupper 5 shearingring 56 has a spherical surface on its uniment relative thereto.

derface which cooperates with the spherical face of the lower bearing ring 48 to form the upper half of the flexible thrust bearing. The upper bearing ring 56 supports the inner peripheral edge of an axial thrust plate 58 which has an upwardly turned-peripheral flange 68, that bears annularly and axially from below against splines 62 formed on the inner face of the cylinder 38 near the upper inner end thereof. in the axial thrust plate 58 through which the bolts 42 pass are comparatively large for angular adjustment of the plate ,58 within the coupling to provide movement of the lower portion of the coupling, that is the bearing ring 56, plate 58, cylinder 30 and hub I 6 relatively to the lower flexible bearing ring 48, carrier plate 44, spacer 52, bolts 42, and shaft 38, as well astheupper hub 36. The elements 52, 44 and 48, while held tightly in place with shaft. 38. by bolts 42, are separately connected, and elements 48 and 44 are also spaced from bolts 42 for shifting move- To connect the two parts of the coupler for movement in unison, an an- 1 nular series of teeth or splines 64 are formedon an outwardly extending flange 66, secured to l the upper hub 36, the splines 64 cooperating with I the annular series of teeth or splines 62 on the cylinder 30. The splines 62 are much longer than the splines 64 to permit the relative axial movement of the two parts of the coupler,

An opening 68 is formed in the flange at the :bottom of the cylinder 38 which is arranged to receive a fitting, such as Alumnite or Zirk fitting, by which liquid .or semi-liquid lubricant may be pumped into the chamber formed in the -cylinder above the oil plate 32. Holes 10 are formed in the plate 58 by which lubricant may be cpassed' up into the splines 62 and 64.

' To prevent lubricant-from escaping from the chamber within the coupler an inwardly extending flange 12 is formed on the upper end of the cylinder and on the lower end of this flange is formed a spherical face 14 which maintains a point contact withthe outer surface of the hub 36. This contact point is at the oscillation center of the upper hub splines and is maintained when .the two parts of the coupler move relatively to L eachv other to provide for alignment of the shafts.

The pointv contact 14 is also lubricated by the lubricant which .is forced into the chamber i through the inlet 68 and serves as a radial bearing for holding the crowns of the splines 62,

64 out of radial bearing relation. To prevent {dust and dirt from working into the coupler a dust ring 16 is loosely mounted on the upper face of the flange 12 and has a point contact 18 whichmakes a snug fit with the outer face I of the hub 36.

In Figure 3 is illustrated a modified form of a coupler wherein a yieldable rubber flexible bearing 80 is mounted soas to be interposed between the bearing carrier plate 44 and the axial thrust plate 58 to replace the spherical flexible thrust bearing members 48 and 56, as illustrated h in Fig. 1. The rubber ring 88 is preferably made of a vulcanized rubber which is oil-insoluble and sold under the trade name of Neoprene, This rubber ring will support comparatively high Lthrusts and still is yieldable and flexible enough w to permit the shafts 'I4 and 38 to adjust themselves for misalignment.

As the thrust load is increased the size of the bolts 42' and 2.0 may be increased and the size of the spherical bearings 48, 56, may be increased.

It will be understood, furthermore, that the ste l The bolt holes- 4 spherical bearing seats are designed so that the center of the sphere coincides with the center of the upper shaft 38 at the point of intersection of a horizontal line passing through the center of the coupling gear teeth (62, 64) engagements.

In operation with the coupling in place on vertical shafts, when the upper shaft. 38 is rotated the lower shaft 14 is driven by means of the driving relation established between the annular series of teeth 64 on the upper hub and g the annular series of teeth 62 on the cylinder ,38, the intermeshing teeth rotating with the upper hub fixed to the driving shaft 38 and turning the sleeve or cylinder 30, which in turn rotates the lower hub l6 which is fixed to the lower shaft [4 and thus rotates the lower shaft I 4 and the agitator [0.

For suspending the shaft [4 and its agitator III, the lower hub l6, and the sleeve or cylinder 20 30,fr om the upper shaft 38, while still permitting angular adjustment due to misalignment of the upper and lower shafts 38, I4, with a simple,

, more economical and facile construction and assembly, the axial thrust plate 58 is employed to annularly supportingly engage with the annular series of teeth 62 on the cylinder 30, axially of the shafts from below'the teeth.

' This plate 58 is carried by the plate 44 which is also a bearing carrying plate,'and so is dis- 3o posed below the axial thrust plate 58 for suspending the axial thrust plate 58 from the upper shaft. I

For this, the bearing carrying plate 44 is carried by the upper shaft to Which it is fixedby 1. means of bolts 42 and a spacer block 52. The axial thrust plate 58 is mounted on the bearing carrying plate 44 for angular adjustment by having it freely encircle bolts 42 and by having it supported on a flexible bearing; interposed be- 10 tween the two plates 58 and 44, preferably in the form of two superimposed spherical thrust bearing rings 48 and 56 which flexibly support the axial thrust plate 58 on the bearing carrying plate 44. V

The various features of the invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new is:

1. A vertical thrust coupling for connecting vertically arranged shafts comprising: an upper hub fixed to the lower end of the upper shaft;

a lower hub fixed to the upper end of the lower shaft; a cylinder fixed to the lower hub and arranged to surround the upper hub; a lower bearing secured to the lower end of the upper shaft and having a spherical upper face; an

upper bearing secured within the cylinder having an under spherical face cooperating with the face of the lower bearing; intermeshing teeth mounted on the inner face of the cylinder and on the outer face of the upper hub; a bearing ring 00 secured to the upper end of the cylinder having an inner spherical face making a point contact -with the outer wall of the upper hub at a point which is the oscillation center of the upper hub teeth, and in which an oil plate is clampedbeo5 tween the cylinder and the lower hub to provide an oil chamber for containing a lubricant to "lubricate said bearings and splines.

2. A vertical thrust coupling for connecting vertically arranged shafts comprising: an upper hub fixed to the lower end of the upper shaft;

a lower hub fixed to the upper end of the lower shaft; a cylinder fixed to the lower hub and arranged to surround the upper hub; a lower bearing secured to the lower end of the upper 7 shaft and having a spherical upper face; an

upper bearing secured within the cylinder having an under spherical face cooperating with the face of the lower bearing; intermeshing teeth mounted on the inner face of the cylinder and on the outer face of the upper hub; a bearing ring secured to the upper end of the cylinder having an inner spherical face making a point contact with the outer wall of the upper hub at a point which is the oscillation center of the upper hub teeth, and in which a dust ring is mounted above the bearing ring to make a snug fit with the outer surface of the upper hub and the top of the bearing ring.

3. A vertical thrust coupling for connecting vertically arranged shafts comprising: an upper hub fixed to the lower end of the upper shaft, a bearing plate attached to the lower end of the upper shaft; a lower hub fixed to the upper end of the lower shaft, a cylinder fixed to the lower hub and arranged to surround the upper hub; a thrust plate within the cylinder positioned above the bearing plate and arranged to vertically support the lower shaft; a flexible thrust bearing positioned between the plates and a splined connection between the upper hub and inner face of the cylinder.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 in which the flexible thrust bearing is an oil-insoluble rubber composition.

5. A vertical thrust coupling for connecting vertically arranged shafts comprising: an upper hub fixed to the lower end of the upper shaft, a separate bearing plate attached to the lower end of the upper shaft, a lower hub fixed to the upper end of the lower shaft, a cylinder fixed to the lower hub and arranged to surround the upper hub, a thrust plate within the cylinder positioned above the bearing plate and arranged to vertically support the lower shaft, a thrust bearing between the upper and lower plates, an oil plate clamped between the lower hub and. the cylinder to provide an oil chamber to immerse the thrust bearing between the plates in oil, and a splined connection between the upper hub and the inner face of the cylinder.

6. A vertical thrust coupling for connecting vertically arranged shafts comprising: an upper hub fixed to the lower end of the upper shaft; a lower hub fixed to the upper end of the lower shaft; a cylinder fixed to the lower hub and arranged to surround the upper hub; a splined connection between the upper hub and the inner face of the cylinder comprising teeth on the cylinder and teeth on the upper hub in driving 1 relation; a bearing carrying plate attached to the lower end of the upper shaft; an axial thrust plate within the cylinder positioned above the bearing carrying plate and carried by the latter and axially supportingly engaging the teeth on the cylinder annularly of the coupling to vertically support the lower shaft; and spherical thrust-bearing rings interposed between the bearing-carrying plate and the axial thrust plate for flexibly supporting the axial thrust plate on the bearing carrying plate.

7. A vertical thrust coupling for connecting vertically arranged shafts comprising; an upper hub fixed to the lower end of the upper shaft; a lower hub fixed to the upper end of the lower shaft; a cylinder fixed to the lower hub and arranged to surround the upper hub; a splined connection between the upper hub and the cylinder comprising an annular series of teeth on the inner face of the cylinder and an annular series of teeth on the upper hub in intermeshing driving relation with each other; an axial thrust plate angularly adjustable within the cylinder and in annular supporting engagement with the annular series of teeth on the cylinder axially from below the teeth, to vertically support the cylinder, the lower hub fixed to the cylinder, and the lower shaft fixed to the lower hub; a bearing carrying plate carried by the lower end of the upper shaft and disposed below the axial thrust plate, for suspending the axial thrust plate from the upper shaft; and spherical thrustbearing rings interposed between the bearing carrying plate and the axial thrust plate for flexibly supporting the axial thrust plate on the bearing carrying plate.

EDGAR G. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 477,625 Detrick June 21, 1892 1,356,860 Fast Oct. 26, 1920 1,610,758 Downer Dec, 14, 1926 1,666,494 Hall Apr. 17, 1928 1,770,744 Morgan June 15, 1930 1,835,506 Linn Dec. 8, 1931 

